When Canada won gold at the Sochi Olympics in 2014, they did it by suffocating the opposition. They relied on a strong cycle in the offensive zone, good defensive structure, and the elite goaltending of Carey Price.

In the round-robin, they beat Norway by a score of 3-1, Austria 6-0, and Finland 2-1 in overtime. They edged out Latvia 2-1 in the quarter-finals and USA 1-0 in the semi-finals before finishing off Sweden in the gold medal game with a 3-0 shutout.
Think about how crazy that is. They played six games in a best-on-best tournament and didn’t allow more than one goal in any of those games. Carey Price finished the tournament with a .972 save percentage and a 0.59 goals-against average. Insanity.
That will not be the story at this year&#8217;s  Nations Face-Off.
As Canada gets set to begin their round-robin schedule tonight with a matchup against Sweden, a lot of the attention is on their high-powered offence and how it will likely need to carry them through this tournament and help them overcome their deficiencies between the pipes.
At even-strength, Canada boasts a level of forward depth that I believe is unmatched. Brad Marchand is playing on their third line with Brayden Point, two legitimate superstar-level players. Anthony Cirelli brings Selke-level defensive play to a fourth line that will be more than capable of going up against the best players on the other team, which could free up the big guns to run wild.
I have zero concerns about this team&#8217;s ability to score at 5v5 but where they will really be able to separate themselves from the pack is with the power play. Canada’s top powerplay unit features two of the league&#8217;s top five scorers in Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, the league&#8217;s highest-scoring defenseman Cale Makar, and a 50-goal scorer in Sam Reinhart.
On top of that, one of the sport&#8217;s greatest players, Sidney Crosby, is leading this five-man unit and that was apparent as the team took to the ice for their first few days of practice. Crosby was very vocal on the ice as that group of players stayed out on the ice later than any of their teammates.
I spoke with Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche about that after the team&#8217;s second practice in Montreal and asked him what Crosby’s message to the group was.
<blockquote>
“You’re trying to communicate as much as possible to get a feel for what guys like to do and then when its game time we’re just playing. The talking is over,&#8221; MacKinnon said.
</blockquote>
It’s a very short tournament and having all that talent is great, but in order for it to translate to on-ice success, they’ll need to gel very quickly.
<blockquote>
“Trying to just build as much chemistry as possible and when you do speak a lot to each other and really break things down, there’s less guessing there,” MacKinnon added. “At the end of the day, it&#8217;s not a complicated thing. We’re going to try be aggressive and have Cale shoot a ton of pucks and get it back to make some plays”
</blockquote>
That last part is a massive key for me. They need to be willing to shoot pucks and not get sucked into trying to just create tap-in goals. If they start trying to be too cute, this power play won’t work.
The abundance of talent is clear. This group of five has combined for 37 power-play goals and 112 power-play points already this season.
Sometimes, though, having that much talent on the ice can be a bad thing and can lead to players deviating from what makes them successful in order to not come off as selfish. MacKinnon recognized that as well
<blockquote>
“I think that was a message,&#8221; MacKinnon said. &#8220;Every guy needs to do what they want to do and the other four read and react off what the puck carrier does. Being really aggressive and not deferring is a key. I think trying to be too nice is not a good recipe”
</blockquote>
If Canada is down by a goal at any point in this tournament, a power play at a crucial time could be huge.
If you’re the coach of one of these other three teams at the tournament, there will be a shiver that goes up your spine when you see the referee raise his arm in the air because this group of Canadian superstars is beyond talented and they seem to be very dialled in and focused on being able to change the outcome of games.

Edmonton Oilers Colorado Avalanche Connor McDavid Nathan MacKinnon

When Canada won gold at the Sochi Olympics in 2014, they did it by suffocating the opposition. They relied on a strong cycle in the offensive zone, good defensive structure, and the elite goaltending of Carey Price.

In the round-robin, they beat Norway by a score of 3-1, Austria 6-0, and Finland 2-1 in overtime. They edged out Latvia 2-1 in the quarter-finals and USA 1-0 in the semi-finals before finishing off Sweden in the gold medal game with a 3-0 shutout.
Think about how crazy that is. They played six games in a best-on-best tournament and didn’t allow more than one goal in any of those games. Carey Price finished the tournament with a .972 save percentage and a 0.59 goals-against average. Insanity.
That will not be the story at this year's  Nations Face-Off.
As Canada gets set to begin their round-robin schedule tonight with a matchup against Sweden, a lot of the attention is on their high-powered offence and how it will likely need to carry them through this tournament and help them overcome their deficiencies between the pipes.
At even-strength, Canada boasts a level of forward depth that I believe is unmatched. Brad Marchand is playing on their third line with Brayden Point, two legitimate superstar-level players. Anthony Cirelli brings Selke-level defensive play to a fourth line that will be more than capable of going up against the best players on the other team, which could free up the big guns to run wild.
I have zero concerns about this team's ability to score at 5v5 but where they will really be able to separate themselves from the pack is with the power play. Canada’s top powerplay unit features two of the league's top five scorers in Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, the league's highest-scoring defenseman Cale Makar, and a 50-goal scorer in Sam Reinhart.
On top of that, one of the sport's greatest players, Sidney Crosby, is leading this five-man unit and that was apparent as the team took to the ice for their first few days of practice. Crosby was very vocal on the ice as that group of players stayed out on the ice later than any of their teammates.
I spoke with Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche about that after the team's second practice in Montreal and asked him what Crosby’s message to the group was.

<blockquote>
“You’re trying to communicate as much as possible to get a feel for what guys like to do and then when its game time we’re just playing. The talking is over," MacKinnon said.
</blockquote>
It’s a very short tournament and having all that talent is great, but in order for it to translate to on-ice success, they’ll need to gel very quickly.

<blockquote>
“Trying to just build as much chemistry as possible and when you do speak a lot to each other and really break things down, there’s less guessing there,” MacKinnon added. “At the end of the day, it's not a complicated thing. We’re going to try be aggressive and have Cale shoot a ton of pucks and get it back to make some plays”
</blockquote>
That last part is a massive key for me. They need to be willing to shoot pucks and not get sucked into trying to just create tap-in goals. If they start trying to be too cute, this power play won’t work.
The abundance of talent is clear. This group of five has combined for 37 power-play goals and 112 power-play points already this season.
Sometimes, though, having that much talent on the ice can be a bad thing and can lead to players deviating from what makes them successful in order to not come off as selfish. MacKinnon recognized that as well

<blockquote>
“I think that was a message," MacKinnon said. "Every guy needs to do what they want to do and the other four read and react off what the puck carrier does. Being really aggressive and not deferring is a key. I think trying to be too nice is not a good recipe”
</blockquote>
If Canada is down by a goal at any point in this tournament, a power play at a crucial time could be huge.
If you’re the coach of one of these other three teams at the tournament, there will be a shiver that goes up your spine when you see the referee raise his arm in the air because this group of Canadian superstars is beyond talented and they seem to be very dialled in and focused on being able to change the outcome of games.

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